The word "Perm" is probably Komi or
Veps in origin. " " is translated from Komi-Permyak language as a hilly
place, covered with woods. Alternately, the name may originate from
the Veps term "Pera maa" or "Perama"
(distant land in English).

Geography

The city of Perm is located on the bank of the Kama River upon hilly terrain. The Kama is the
main tributary of the Volga River and the one
of the deepest and most picturesque rivers of Russia. This river is the
waterway which grants the Urals access to
the White
Sea, Baltic
Sea, Sea of
Azov, Black
Sea, and Caspian
Sea. Kama divides the city into two parts, the
central part and the right bank part, and it stretches for
70 km along the Kama and 40 km across it. The city street
grid parallels the Kama River, travelling generally east-west,
while other main streets run perpendicularly to those following the
river. The grid pattern accommodates the hills of the city where it
crosses them.

Another distinguishing feature of the city's relief is the large
quantity of small rivers and brooks. The largest of them
are the Mulyanka, Yegoshikha,
Motoviliha (all are on the left bank of Kama River), and Gaiva (on
the right bank).

History

During the early Middle Ages, the region
of Perm was populated by paganFinno-Ugric tribes who lived to the southeast of
the legendary Bjarmaland and northeast of
Volga Bulgaria. Between the 13th and
14th centuries, Russian fur traders and
Christian missionaries from
Novgorod and later Moscow founded the
first settlements in the area.Saint Stephen of Perm is credited with
the conversion of the local population to Christianity in the late
14th century. In the 15th century, the Perm region, because of its
highly profitable fur trade, was an object of a bitter rivalry
between Novgorod and Moscow, and in 1472 Perm was finally annexed
by the Grand Duchy of Moscow.
In the
late 15th and early 16th centuries, soldiers, merchants, Christian
monks, and priests were followed by Tsarist
administration officials and peasant
settlers from western Russia.

Perm was first mentioned as a village, Yegoshikha, in 1647; however, the history
of the modern city of Perm starts with the development of the
Ural region by Tsar Peter I of Russia. Vasily Tatishchev, appointed by the Tsar
as a chief manager of Ural factories, founded Perm together with
another major center of the Ural region, Yekaterinburg.

Perm was founded on May 15 (May 4 in
Julian calendar), 1723, and has had town status since 1781. By 1797, it
was already an administrative center of the gubernia with the same name.

Ulitsa Pokrovskaya in central Perm
around 1910.

In the 19th century, Perm became a major trade and industrial
center with a population of more than 20,000 people in the 1860s,
with several metallurgy, paper, and steamboat
producing factories, including one owned by a British entrepreneur.
In 1870, an opera theatre was opened in the city, and in 1871 the
first phosphoric factory in Russia was
built. In 1916, Perm State University — a major educational
institution in modern Russia — was opened.

Grand Duke
Mikail Alexandrovich was executed in the outskirts of Perm with
his secretary Nicholas Johnson on June 12,
1918 on the orders of the Perm Cheka. Their bodies were never recovered. A few weeks
later on July 7, 1918,
Andronic Nikolsky, the Archbishop
Of Perm, was also murdered by the Bolsheviks in the city. In 2000, the Russian
Orthodox Church glorified him as Hieromartyr Andronik, Archbishop
Of Perm, one of the Russian New Martyrs and Confessors.

File:Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii - City of Perm. General
view (1910).jpg|General view of City of PermFile:Sergei
Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii - General view of the city of Perm
from Gorodskie Gorki (1910).jpg|General view of the city of Perm
from Gorodskie GorkiFile:Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii -
Razguliai, outskirts of the city of Perm (1910).jpg|Razguliai,
outskirts of the city of PermFile:Perm._Mary_Magdalene_Church.png|
Mary Magdalene Church of the city PermFile:Prokudin-Gorsky - Perm.
Summertime location of the exchange.jpg| Summertime location of the
exchange in the city PermFile:Prokudin-Gorskii - Staro-Sibirskaia
Gate in the city of Perm.jpg|Prokudin-Gorskii - Staro-Sibirskaia
Gate in the city of PermFile:Prokudin-Gorskii-25.jpg|Kama river
near Perm. The bridge still stands today, but another similar
bridge has been built along side it. Both are painted
white.File:Prokudin-Gorsky - Perm. Headquarters of the Ural Railway
Administration.jpg|Headquarters of the Ural Railway Administration
in the city of Perm

Soviet Times

In the 1930s, Perm grew as a major industrial city, and aviation, shipbuilding,
and chemical factories were built there.
The process continued after the 1940s and virtually every major
industry became represented by numerous factories in Perm. To this
day almost 80% of the city's population is employed in
manufacturing. During the Great Patriotic War (World War II), Perm was a vital center of
artillery production in the Soviet Union.

Modern city

The city is a major administrative, industrial, scientific, and
cultural center. The leading industries include machinery, defence, oil
production (about 3% of Russian output), oil refining, chemical and
petrochemical, timber and wood processing and the food
industry.

Culture

The Perm Opera and Ballet House is the one of the best in Russia.
There are
many other theatres in Perm, such as the Drama
theatre, the Puppet Theatre, the Theatre for Young
Spectators, the Theatre "Near Bridge", etcetera

The city contains museums and galleries. The Perm State Art Gallery
is recognized for its outstanding collections of art, including
paintings from the 15th to 18th century art movements, and wooden
sculptures from the region. It is housed in a notable early 19th
century structure, once an orthodox cathedral. The spire of the
museum towers over the rest of Perm, as it is situated on the
Komsomolsky Prospect. [47452][47453] Perm is in the news for the new Museum of
Contemporary Art, which came into existence officially in March
2009. Marat Guelman left Moscow to join this Museum. Some wonder if
Perm will become the new Bilbao with this burst of artistic
activity. [47454][47455]

Education

Perm is a
scientific center; some of the scientific institutes are combined
in the Perm Scientific Center of the Ural Branch of the Russian
Academy of Sciences.

Perm is a home to several major universities including Perm State University , Perm State
Technical University , Perm State Teachers' Training University,
Perm State Medical Academy , Perm State Pharmaceutical Academy ,
Perm State Agricultural Academy, The Institute of Art and Culture,
Perm State Choreographic School, Perm branch of state university
Higher school of economics and others. There are also three
military schools in Perm.

Transport

Perm is
an important railway junction on the Trans-Siberian Railway with lines
radiating to Central Russia, north
part of Ural, far east of Russia. The
Kama River is an important link in the unifying
deep-water system of the European part of Russia. The river
connects the city with European waterways. It is possible to
ship cargo from Kama river area to the sea ports of White, Baltic, Azov, Black, and
Caspian seas without reloading.

Perm is
served by the international airport Bolshoye
Savino, 16 km south-west.